Wellington Zinefest

Wellington Zinefest '09

Wellington Zinefest '09 took place at Mighty Mighty bar in Cuba Mall, Wellington. Mighty Mighty's colorful surrounding (gold table cloths, red velvet drapes and carnival flags) suited the idiosyncrasy of the zines on display. Wellington Public Library and their zine collection were again the prime sponsor. Intimate talks and workshops were held in the library's reading area. A workshop table hummed with activity resulting in a gorgeous collection of montages being compiled in a zine-from-the-day (quite a few JCs with speech bubbles). And finally, an ugly beautiful 'best of the fest' trophy was awarded to Nick of Auckland's Cross Street Studios for his first ever zine - Chew Gum Bitches.

An after party was held at another Wellington bar Happy, with several bands.

History

Wellington Zinefest birthed in 2007 as the baby of Wellington Public Library (WPL) employee Kylie Buck. The event took place at the Wesley Church Hall and followed the format of similar events in other countries, with stalls, workshops, food, and a WPL reading area. Buck had recently encouraged the WPL to start New Zealand's first ever public library zine collection. In 2008 Buck left the WPL, yet organised a second Wellington Zinefest that year, again at the Wesley Church Hall. In 2009 Buck formed a committee to take on the responsibility of the third Wellington Zinefest, hoping this would make her personal investment in the event a little easier to cope with and secure the longevity of the event. Wellington Zinefest 2009 was Buck's last in an organizational capacity.